La Esperanza Granada
Giving a Hand Up, Not a Hand Out
La Esperanza Granada
Giving a Hand Up, Not a Hand Out
Volunteering
I have been at La Esperanza for two and a half months now, and I have had a fantastic experience teaching English in a secondary school. It has been very exciting; I have learned a lot about myself and new things. I have been able to experience a completely different culture and have a lot of fun in a new country.
I think coming here has been a really eye-opening experience for me because I have been able to see firsthand how much of a difference you can make in these young people’s lives. Despite being here for only two months, I saw kids go from a very low level of English to being able to speak English with me and other teachers, and really being able to form a bond with some of them, sharing interests, playing sports, and bringing them new materials and teaching advice.
I think that La Esperanza is definitely creating a huge impact in the communities it works with, helping some of the least fortunate children in the city who do not have great access to resources. We can bring them resources from other parts of the world and share our knowledge and cultural experiences to really build a lovely community feel within these schools.
Jonny
English Teacher March - May 2024
Volunteer with children in a Learning Center
The majority of our volunteers work in one of our four Learning Centers with young children. The children attend primary school in the morning, and come to the Centers during after-school hours (1-4pm).
Our learning Centers provide safe, clean places for children to continue their learning in an informal environment. Our centers are stocked with resources not often found in schools such as books, computers, a library, art materials, and much more.
Volunteers work with young local university scholarship recipients to run activities for the children. You can help us create our fun, interactive, high-impact, and positive learning environment.
Most volunteers will spend most of their time teaching basic English to the children. There are also opportunities to focus on Computing, Mathematics or Spanish.
We prefer that all volunteers have at least an intermediate level of Spanish, a minimum time commitment of 2 weeks, and ideally some experience working with children.
Volunteering in a Learning Center can be challenging, but is also really fun and rewarding. To find out more, head to our Volunteer Testimonies page, or drop us an email.
Volunteer as an Office Assistant
La Esperanza Granada employs five full-time Nicaraguan staff to oversee the delivery of all our projects. As an Office Assistant, you would work with our team of dedicated staff to ensure the efficient and effective running of our NGO. You would be involved with administration, publicity and communications. Tasks for this position vary depending on our needs at any one time, but may include improving our online presence, translating documents, writing the newsletter, recruiting new volunteers and distributing materials to the Centers.
This position is available throughout the year and requires a minimum time commitment of 8 weeks, so that volunteers have enough time to understand how the organisation works. We also ask that volunteers have a professional working level of Spanish.
Volunteering hours for this position are flexible, but are likely to include a mixture of home and office-based working in Granada. This position may also be combined with volunteering in a Learning Center.
If you have any questions about this role, please email us or you can head straight to our application form.
Group volunteer with construction projects
We have four Learning Centers that are always in need of maintenance, repairs and renovations. We have the tools, but it is of great help when we have volunteers willing to take on general handyman work. Whether you have particular skills in building or painting, or simply wish to learn on the job, we will be delighted to hear from you.
This is an ideal position for anyone who wants to help La Esperanza. This is also the perfect opportunity for groups who are only able to dedicate a short amount of time to volunteering.
Painting and Construction projects require a time commitment of anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. We welcome groups and families for this volunteering opportunity.
To find out more about the current jobs in need of volunteers, drop us an email and we will back to you as soon as we can.
Long term volunteering for experienced professionals
Are you an experienced educational professional looking for your next challenge? If so, we would love to hear from you. International volunteers help La Esperanza to deliver our life skill workshop curriculum, deliver teacher training to educators and lead new educational projects in our Centers. If this sounds like something that matches your skillset, and you are able to make a long-term commitment to La Esperanza, please get in touch with our team.
“I was working here with La Esperanza for two weeks. I was teaching English to the Children of Granada. It was a really nice experience and I’ve learnt a lot here. I had a lot of fun teaching English to the children, things like the fruits and the numbers, as well as playing and seeing their improvements. It’s a really interesting experience living here and seeing how society works, how people live, and how children grow up.”